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18-4 now... season wrapup predictions... 9 games remaining... W's & L's

Dex has been very silent of late. Hope he is alright, not sick or anything.
Hey, I got banned for like 3 weeks for saying something negative about a player, but was recently reactivated.

I called this game a Purdue win, because Crean always opts single coverage on Purdue's big men. First four possessions of last night's game, Purdue scored in the paint (I believe 3 baskets were by Hammons), and once IU switched to double Hammons, Haas and Swanigan every time they touched the ball.....it made all the difference.

Crean (presumably) made the adjustment, and as such he deserves credit. But you know, he is not known for his adjustments (watch the MSU game, for instance). If they play like that, and Williams plays within himself, the team will be a candidate for a deep tourney run.
 
In other words, Crean did what I have been suggesting for years. I'm glad Buckley got that info to him (because you know Buckley is the one dude that reads this forum for coaching advice).
 
Really? 3-0 shouldn't be a surprise when two of those teams are ranked in the top 10 and one of them is on the road? Sorry, but 2-1 is still (barely) surpassing expectations, and if RJ is out 1-2 should not be a surprise.
The Illinois game is about an 85% probability of winning (based solely on conf games played to date) and the Iowa game is about 1/3 with the Maryland game being about 2/3 chance of winning.
 
I'm mean have a conversation without getting carried away. Crean is not even top 4 in the BIg among coaches: Izzo, Matta,Belien, McCaffery(look where he is coaching), the. U have guys like Painter and Turgeon that are probably better as well.
That's your opinion, you are entitled to it but I disagree. We have a very good coach, the program is headed in the right direction.
 
Hey, I got banned for like 3 weeks for saying something negative about a player, but was recently reactivated.

I called this game a Purdue win, because Crean always opts single coverage on Purdue's big men. First four possessions of last night's game, Purdue scored in the paint (I believe 3 baskets were by Hammons), and once IU switched to double Hammons, Haas and Swanigan every time they touched the ball.....it made all the difference.

Crean (presumably) made the adjustment, and as such he deserves credit. But you know, he is not known for his adjustments (watch the MSU game, for instance). If they play like that, and Williams plays within himself, the team will be a candidate for a deep tourney run.

As I pointed out in a post earlier today, Purdue for the game was 18-27 on 2 point fg's for 66.6%. That is the best 2 pt FG% posted against IU all season (tied with MSU). I can't help but wonder what % PU might have shot had we not discovered the magic bullet.
 
I'm mean have a conversation without getting carried away. Crean is not even top 4 in the BIg among coaches: Izzo, Matta,Belien, McCaffery(look where he is coaching), the. U have guys like Painter and Turgeon that are probably better as well.
No, not McCaffery. He looked somewhat lost at Assembly Hall.
 
Sometimes, I wonder about your allegiance to IU, especially after a post that indicates you are hoping for a crash. smh

BINGO! Disagree with Crean all you want. Argue about whether or not he is the future at IU. All these threads about "the next coach" at IU look a little silly, considering that we lead the B1G. But these posters who obviously, either by attitude or exact words, wish for the Hoosiers to lose as many games as possible so they can be right are way over the line, imho.
 
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Sometimes, I wonder about your allegiance to IU, especially after a post that indicates you are hoping for a crash. smh
Where did I ever say I was HOPING for a crash?

My problems with this team is that it STILL hasn't proven they are a force to be reckoned with away from AH. They're good at home, I'll grant you that. But they've had two true road games against top 25-level competition - and fared horribly in both.

I hope the DO prove me wrong. But I look at the elements of our play and I see more of the "success" from this year due to talent and an extremely favorable schedule. IU has a SOS that is nearly in the bottom of the B1G; only Nebraska and Northwestern have worse SOS.

Neither of them have an AA point guard, a McAA center, athletes and shooters and a coach who makes 3+ mil/yr. And yet I've seen expectations on here that a 5-7 seed in the NCAA would be acceptable.

I'm truly sorry if you don't foresee what I do. I look at the whole picture, and the things I see from this team don't equate to having success come March/April. I wish it was different, but it's not.
 
Where did I ever say I was HOPING for a crash?

My problems with this team is that it STILL hasn't proven they are a force to be reckoned with away from AH. They're good at home, I'll grant you that. But they've had two true road games against top 25-level competition - and fared horribly in both.

I hope the DO prove me wrong. But I look at the elements of our play and I see more of the "success" from this year due to talent and an extremely favorable schedule. IU has a SOS that is nearly in the bottom of the B1G; only Nebraska and Northwestern have worse SOS.

Neither of them have an AA point guard, a McAA center, athletes and shooters and a coach who makes 3+ mil/yr. And yet I've seen expectations on here that a 5-7 seed in the NCAA would be acceptable.

I'm truly sorry if you don't foresee what I do. I look at the whole picture, and the things I see from this team don't equate to having success come March/April. I wish it was different, but it's not.

How many post season games are "true" road games? They are on neutral courts with tickets dispersed evenly to multiple fan bases. Some MAY have a geographical advantage but it is hardly the equivalent of walking into Caneron Indoor, Breslin or Kohl Center.

In the spirit of neutral court productivity, Notre Dame was a win against a team that has been ranked in the top 25. Tickets were split and the Purdue and Butler fan bases were decidedly sided with ND.
 
How many post season games are "true" road games? They are on neutral courts with tickets dispersed evenly to multiple fan bases. Some MAY have a geographical advantage but it is hardly the equivalent of walking into Caneron Indoor, Breslin or Kohl Center.

In the spirit of neutral court productivity, Notre Dame was a win against a team that has been ranked in the top 25. Tickets were split and the Purdue and Butler fan bases were decidedly sided with ND.

The point is, IU has not shown an ability to play well and do things that generate success consistently away from home.

They have had their moments. The 1st half at MSU is a good example, as was part of the 1st half at Duke. And this team has the ability; they have the players. But this is a team that more often than not that has to rely on out-shooting the opponent - and with the schedule they've played (so far) they've been able to hide deficiencies because they simply have more talent than most of the teams they've played.

The B1G is a weak conference this year. They move up to 5th in RPI from last week (6th), but the overall conference is weak. And IU has played primarily the bottom teams. Do an analysis of who've they've played and you'll see why I (and many others on this board) have our concerns about the ultimate ceiling for this team.

Would I love to be wrong? I hope to hell I am - but looking back at the body of work in an unbiased fashion shows me this team is far too reliant on outshooting the opponent. And that will only take you so far.
 
The point is, IU has not shown an ability to play well and do things that generate success consistently away from home.

They have had their moments. The 1st half at MSU is a good example, as was part of the 1st half at Duke. And this team has the ability; they have the players. But this is a team that more often than not that has to rely on out-shooting the opponent - and with the schedule they've played (so far) they've been able to hide deficiencies because they simply have more talent than most of the teams they've played.

The B1G is a weak conference this year. They move up to 5th in RPI from last week (6th), but the overall conference is weak. And IU has played primarily the bottom teams. Do an analysis of who've they've played and you'll see why I (and many others on this board) have our concerns about the ultimate ceiling for this team.

Would I love to be wrong? I hope to hell I am - but looking back at the body of work in an unbiased fashion shows me this team is far too reliant on outshooting the opponent. And that will only take you so far.

There is another large faction on this board that understands the history of the program under CTC yet doesn't feel the need to point it out incessantly. It seems to me, that if I were on the outside looking in, and I saw a large number of posts saying that nothing has been accomplished, this team has played nobody, this team can't/won't go far (and will be deemed a failure if so), I'd want nothing to do with the program.

Like it or not, people utilize all social media to form opinions and this is an element of that. When the fan base is lampooning a team that has grown and evolved and has the talent to continue to do so, is in first place in the conference, is ranked in the top 25 in the nation yet has a disgruntled/fractured group of "fans" showing up with regularity, it affects a myriad of things. The sad part is the national media seem to be willing to parrot the negative and a snowball effect is created.

I'm ready for all of the comments from the critical group, I know they're coming but unless this issue is identified by someone not of like mind, the negativity seems more prevalent and I hope for better for our program. Ready, aim, fire!
 
I can say that, I would rather have team success, even if it means keeping Crean. I wouldn't tank a season, like an NBA team for instance.

Crean was never going to lose his job, because of the Blackmon Loss; he was always going to have that excuse.

Now, that being said, I give both CREAN and TROY credit, both are people I've savaged this season. Why? Why have I given them credit? Because they earned it. I like to see people --in any field--learning. Crean LEARNED from his past Purdue failure (single coverage on 7-foot monsters), applied the double coverage, and we won. Big men impact was lessened. Sure, Purdue hit their last 56 3 pointers, but that's a risk I'll take.

As for Troy. He completely played within himself and didn't force anything. He looked like the really good version of Troy we saw last year at times. If both Crean and Troy continue to improve, then really the sky is the limit for this team. It's not unthinkable for us to win out this regular season.
 
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I can say that, I would rather have team success, even if it means keeping Crean. I wouldn't tank a season, like an NBA team for instance.

Crean was never going to lose his job, because of the Blackmon Loss; he was always going to have that excuse.

Now, that being said, I give both CREAN and TROY credit, both are people I've savaged this season. Why? Why have I given them credit? Because they earned it. I like to see people --in any field--learning. Crean LEARNED from his past Purdue failure (single coverage on 7-foot monsters), applied the double coverage, and we won. Big men impact was lessened. Sure, Purdue hit their last 56 3 pointers, but that's a risk I'll take.

As for Troy. He completely played within himself and didn't force anything. He looked like the really good version of Troy we saw last year at times. If both Crean and Troy continue to improve, then really the sky is the limit for this team. It's not unthinkable for us to win out this regular season.

I've said it many times on here but this team NEEDS Troy to do well to be successful and his inconsistent play may ultimately hurt the team, or propel it. I'm glad my wagon isn't hitched to him but I'll root like hell for his success...and that of the team as well.
 
His effort and defense was so good in that last game....I actually felt PROUD for him. Like he had overcome something really hampering his game. And he was high flying Troy again, and it just makes us so much more dangerous.

I don't want to get TOO excited....but this team has the look of a team that is peaking at the right time. Not quite yet....but within the next 2 weeks. Road game at ILL will tell us a lot, because in past years we lose that 9 times out of 10, even against this bad ILL team. To go in there and pull a W, would show great maturity.
 
You guys keep on crowing about this paper lion. It's gonna make the crash at the end even worse.
It's not the end - yet.

But this team, with the talent they have, should NEVER play like they did today. EVER.

What's worse is this team went from being a possible #3 seed to a #5 - or lower.
 
No way we're as low as 5
BEFORE today, Lunardi had us as #3 in the South.

We played a weak schedule. Yes, we won the B1G regular season title - with the most generous schedule possible in a weak year for the Big Ten (conference RPI ranked 5th among all conferences).

What would lead you to believe - especially after today - that IU will get anything better than a #5 seed?
 
BEFORE today, Lunardi had us as #3 in the South.

We played a weak schedule. Yes, we won the B1G regular season title - with the most generous schedule possible in a weak year for the Big Ten (conference RPI ranked 5th among all conferences).

What would lead you to believe - especially after today - that IU will get anything better than a #5 seed?

Neutral court loss, on a last second shot, to a team desperate to get into the tournament. It isn't earth shattering and we will have lost without two of our starting five in the game. One will return for the NCAA tournament. I just don't see it dropping us two seeds.
 
BEFORE today, Lunardi had us as #3 in the South.

We played a weak schedule. Yes, we won the B1G regular season title - with the most generous schedule possible in a weak year for the Big Ten (conference RPI ranked 5th among all conferences).

What would lead you to believe - especially after today - that IU will get anything better than a #5 seed?
Talk on the radio by IU guys is a #4 is the ceiling and it may be a #5 seed. We just don't have many wins over good teams. Either way if it is a 4 or 5 if IU can win the first game the 2nd game will be very tough. Could be the typical early exit.
 
Neutral court loss, on a last second shot, to a team desperate to get into the tournament. It isn't earth shattering and we will have lost without two of our starting five in the game. One will return for the NCAA tournament. I just don't see it dropping us two seeds.
You are not seriously still saying that we are down Blackmon as if we are playing short handed? The team played much better without him and that is just a fact.
 
You are not seriously still saying that we are down Blackmon as if we are playing short handed? The team played much better without him and that is just a fact.

In fact, I am and today's game was just the type of game he would have helped spread their defense out. JBJr is a special talent offensively. People who think the team is better without him are flat out wrong. I realize it's the popular narrative but the defensive improvement that coincided with his injury also coincided with extended practice time over the holiday season.

JBJr was a McD AA, he has unique talent and IF he had been able to play today, Niego wouldn't have even sniffed the court.

Are you telling me Niego brings more to this team than JBJr would?

And yes, compounding the JBJr injury is the RJ injury.
 
You are not seriously still saying that we are down Blackmon as if we are playing short handed? The team played much better without him and that is just a fact.

Saying they played better without him, and saying they played better because they were without him are two totally different statements. The first may be true for a variety of reasons (motivation, opponents, focus, etc), and the second shows an alarmingly simplistic understanding of team sports.
 
W @UM
W @Penn
W v Iowa
L @MSU
W v Nebraska
L v PU
L @UI
L @Iowa
W v Maryland

Absolutely no way we win @MSU or @Iowa, obviously. Hell will freeze over if this team beats a ranked team on the road. Frankly, every other game could go either way, but I still think IU can and will beat anybody in Bloomington. Not many teams muck up the flow of a game like Minny or Wisconsin. Most of the good teams will believe they are talented enough to beat us in a shootout, and they will probably be wrong, in Assembly Hall.

23-8 isn't too bad, really.
Is ice skating allowed in Hell, now that is has frozen over???? Just curious.
 
Saying they played better without him, and saying they played better because they were without him are two totally different statements. The first may be true for a variety of reasons (motivation, opponents, focus, etc), and the second shows an alarmingly simplistic understanding of team sports.
Would he add another scorer? Maybe so.

But scoring has never been this team's problem. Stopping people was the issue - and IU's defense is night and day since JBJr went out. O.G. wouldn't have gotten time that he has if Blackmon was playing.
 
Talk on the radio by IU guys is a #4 is the ceiling and it may be a #5 seed. We just don't have many wins over good teams. Either way if it is a 4 or 5 if IU can win the first game the 2nd game will be very tough. Could be the typical early exit.
Depending on how others do IU could fall to a #6 or #7, but #5 is most likely.
 
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